When we last looked at the state of the U.S. grid, the ongoing explosion in solar power had turned it into a major contributor, but it was still far behind fossil-fuel-powered generation. So it was a bit of a surprise when preliminary data showed that solar power would overtake coal-fired generation in the US for the first time in May 2026. Now, with the official release of April grid data by the Energy Information Administration, we can see that solar power generation overtook coal just a month ago — with little warning.
The caveat is that a large portion of that solar production never reaches the grid, because it is produced by rooftop installations and used by the building on top of which they sit.
The situation was quite normal in April/May. After a brief resurgence last year, coal use has resumed decline despite repeated government efforts to boost it. Meanwhile, solar power continued its rapid growth, driven by its position as the cheapest way to increase generating capacity in much of the US. But this growth started from a small base, and the early months of the year see seasonally lower solar output. As a result, despite growth of over 20 percent year-over-year, solar power is providing only 6 percent of electricity on the U.S. grid, in sharp contrast to coal’s 16 percent.
However, the longer days in April will naturally boost solar power production, and this will combine with all the new installations that will be completed by the end of the year. Add in the continued decline of coal, and the gap between the two narrowed substantially. In April a year earlier, coal provided 14 percent of electricity on the grid, and solar power only 8.3 percent. The equivalent numbers for 2026 are 12 percent and 9.4 percent. So, there is still a difference, but it is quite small.
<a href